The last 16 beckons, and there were plenty of storylines to digest. We hand out honours and dishonours from the latest round of action
Feyenoord
Continue reading...Champions League roundup: PSV’s Ryan Flamingo dumps out Juventus
- PSV beat Juventus 3-1 after extra time in playoff
- PSG and Borussia Dortmund stroll into last 16
Ryan Flamingo scored in extra time to give PSV Eindhoven a 3-1 home win on Wednesday in the second leg of their Champions League knockout phase playoff against Juventus, overturning a first-leg deficit and putting them into the last 16.
The tie was level at 3-3 on aggregate after 90 minutes and went into extra time before Flamingo poached a 98th-minute winner as Juventus became the third Italian side eliminated from the competition, after Milan and Atalanta on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Atalanta’s Lookman hits out at manager’s ‘hurtful’ jibe after penalty is saved
- Gasperini calls him ‘one of the worst penalty takers’
- Striker’s spot-kick saved as side were beaten by Brugge
The Atalanta striker Ademola Lookman said comments by his coach, Gian Piero Gasperini, describing him as “one of the worst penalty takers” he had ever seen after Tuesday’s Champions League exit were “deeply disrespectful” and hurtful.
Club Brugge stunned Atalanta 3-1 in the second leg of their playoff to dump the Italian side out with a 5-2 aggregate win and reach the last 16. Lookman pulled back one goal for Atalanta when they were 3-0 down. However the London-born Nigeria forward, who has scored 15 times this season, then had a penalty saved by Simon Mignolet, after which Gasperini said Lookman was not supposed to take the spot-kick.
Continue reading...Bayern Munich 1-1 Celtic (agg: 3-2): Champions League playoff round, second leg – as it happened
An heroic Celtic performance ended in heartbreak when Alphonso Davies settled the tie with 30 seconds remaining
“Speaking of Father Ted,” begins Matt Emerson, “I see that Tom from Craggy Island has swapped his ‘I Shot JR’ T-shirt for an Ipswich Town kit and is going by the name of ‘Liam Delap’.”
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Milan and Atalanta dumped out of playoffs by Feyenoord and Club Brugge
- Feyenoord edge past Milan after Hernandez red card
- Club Brugge beat Atalanta 5-2, Benfica edge Monaco
Milan were left to rue Théo Hernandez’s sending-off following a dive as Feyenoord pegged them back on the night and advanced 2-1 on aggregate to the Champions League last 16 with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff.
Hernandez earned his second yellow card for the seven-time European champions for a dive in the 51st minute when Milan were dominating. The Italian side had cancelled out their first-leg deficit almost immediately, with forward Santiago Giménez striking against his former team in the first minute at San Siro.
From a short corner move, Christian Pulisic floated a pass towards the far post where Malick Thiaw placed a header back across goal and Giménez nodded the ball over the line. The Mexican declined to celebrate against the club he left in January, and soon after played in João Félix who put his effort over the bar.
Continue reading...Porto 1-1 Roma, AZ Alkmaar 4-1 Galatasaray, Twente 2-1 Bodø/Glimt: Europa League – as it happened
AZ Alkmaar stunned Gala, 10-man Roma held on in Portugal and 16-year-old Jorthy Mokio helped Ajax beat Union SG
Ajax lead in Belgium. A fine, end-to-end move was finished off beautifully by Christian Rasmussen, who clipped a first-time shot into the far corner from 19 yards.
It’s all going swimmingly for Jose Mourinho. Youssef En-Nesyri has put Fenerbahce 3-0 ahead with a mighty header from Sebastian Szymanski’s cross. He was about 15 yards out and powered it into the bottom corner at the near post.
Continue reading...Champions League review: a fired up Vinícius Júnior and McKennie’s screamer
The knockout stages are here, and there were plenty of storylines to digest. We hand out honours and dishonours from the latest round of action
Feyenoord
Continue reading...Celtic 1-2 Bayern Munich: Champions League playoff round, first leg – as it happened
Michael Olise and Harry Kane gave Bayern Munich the edge going into the second leg against Celtic, who pulled one back through Daizen Maeda
Justin Kavanagh emails: “Great photo of Rod! He’s certainly got the gladrags on tonight, but does that bandage on his right fist suggest he’s already had some handbags? If so, it probably won’t be the last we’ll see at Celtic Park tonight in what should be a quite tasty match. Don’t spare the Rod, Bhoys.”
The main plan for Celtic here is to keep it tight early on against one of the most exciting front fours in Europe. You do not get many Musiala-type players in the Scottish Premiership.
Continue reading...Bayern’s Scottish adventures: from wrath against Raith to a shock at Aberdeen
Before the German club face Celtic in a Champions League playoff we recount a rich history that goes back decades
Given Bayern Munich’s lengthy and storied history in European competition, it may come as no surprise that they have jousted with Scottish clubs over several decades. But the variation and drama attached to many of those fixtures gives cause for contemplation as the German team return to Glasgow for a Champions League playoff against Celtic.
Bayern are heavy favourites to progress, largely because of the economic tilt towards clubs of their standing in the modern era. It was not always thus, however, as a glance at the record books outlines.
Continue reading...‘It’s just bad decisions’: Guardiola rues late goals as City slip to Madrid defeat
- City conceded twice in final six minutes of 3-2 loss
- ‘Everyone has to take accountability – I take it’
Pep Guardiola admitted that Manchester City cannot be competitive if they continue to concede late goals as they did when surrendering an 86th-minute lead in Tuesday’s 3-2 home defeat against Real Madrid in the Champions League playoff first leg.
City held the advantage at the Etihad Stadium through Erling Haaland’s 80th-minute penalty, with the striker’s 19th-minute opener having been cancelled out by Kylian Mbappé on the hour. Yet Guardiola’s side collapsed as the final whistle approached.
Continue reading...Manchester City 2-3 Real Madrid: Champions League playoff player ratings
Erling Haaland impressed despite defeat and Jude Bellingham showed up when his team needed it most
Ederson Brilliant low second-half save from Kylian Mbappé before Erling Haaland strike. Sharp saves early on but poor clearance makes the No 1 culpable for Brahim Díaz’s equaliser. 6
Continue reading...Champions League: Guirassy cuts down Sporting, Juventus edge ahead of PSV
- Dortmund win 3-0 in Portugal; Mbangula lifts Juve
- Dembélé takes Brest apart to show PSG are contenders
Serhou Guirassy scored one and set up another in Borussia Dortmund’s 3-0 victory at Sporting in their Champions League playoff first leg to put last year’s finalists in the driving seat for a spot in the last 16.
The top scorer in this season’s Champions League headed in his 10th goal of the competition on the hour mark before providing Pascal Gross with a perfect assist to double the lead in the 68th minute.
Continue reading...Manchester City 2-3 Real Madrid: Champions League playoff round, first leg – as it happened
Jude Bellingham’s injury-time winner shattered an ailing Manchester City, who led twice through Erling Haaland
2012-13 (group stage)
Madrid 3-2 City
City 1-1 Madrid
City 0-0 Madrid
Madrid 1-0 City (agg: 1-0)
Madrid 1-2 City
City 2-1 Madrid (agg: 4-2)
Madrid 1-1 City
City 4-0 Madrid (agg: 5-1)
Madrid 3-3 City
City 1-1 Madrid (agg: 4-4; pens: 3-4)
Continue reading...Rodgers keen for Celtic to use home atmosphere and ‘hurt’ Bayern Munich
- Scottish side welcome ‘football royalty’ on Wednesday
- Hosts boosted by Daizen Maeda return after ban appeal
Brendan Rodgers wants Bayern Munich to experience “hurt” at Celtic Park after taking pride in his team’s European improvement this season.
Bayern’s visit to Glasgow marks the first time since 2013 that Celtic will play knockout Champions League football, with Rodgers contemplating his most significant scalp yet. Celtic are the heavy underdogs to see off the German giants over two legs but Rodgers has challenged his players to keep the tie competitive before they head to the Allianz Arena next week. Slovan Bratislava, RB Leipzig and Young Boys have already been defeated at Celtic Park this season, with the hosts unbeaten in their last half-dozen home European games.
Continue reading...Real Madrid prepare for Manchester City with ‘total emergency’ in defence
An injury crisis means Carlo Ancelotti must get creative in the Champions League playoff against Manchester City
Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rüdiger, David Alaba, Éder Militão and Marcelo were in the team photo before the Madrid derby at the Bernabéu on Saturday night. A seriously impressive defence, it was just a pity they weren’t playing. Instead, Marcelo was there so they could pay homage to the full-back, who won 25 trophies with the club, in the week he announced his retirement. The other four had come to join him and support their teammates. None were dressed in white; all are injured.
All of which would be bad enough, but it was about to get worse. The following afternoon, having been named in the squad to travel to Manchester, the captain pulled out too. In the past fortnight Lucas Vázquez had missed visits to Valladolid and Leganés as a precaution but eventually he too fell, calling from home after Sunday’s training session to say something wasn’t right in his thigh. He was the backup, a midfielder at full-back, albeit one who has played there for so long now that it has become his default role. There have been 36 injuries at Madrid this season, 26 of them muscular.
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